“I don’t want to be.”
“Give it time. You’ll get to know me better and come to trust me.”
“I already trust you.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
He pulled up outside her work building and jumped out. He walked around and helped her down, and then he wrapped an arm around her waist.
“You don’t have to take me in,” she said.
“I’m going to talk to Gregory this morning, so I thought I’d walk you all the way up.”
“Are you going to tell him about us?”
He nodded. “Yes. Does that bother you?”
She shook her head. “No. I was planning on telling him myself.”
“I’ll do it. I don’t want you to worry about it.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
He dropped her off at her office with a kiss. “I will be outside waiting for you at five. Stay inside the building.”
She nodded.
He narrowed his eyes on her. “I mean it, baby. I want you safe.”
“How much trouble can I get into standing outside on the sidewalk?”
He grasped her hips with his hands. “Let’s put it this way. If I catch you outside, I will spank your ass red.”
He bit back his smile when her mouth dropped open.
“You would not!”
“Oh, yeah, I would. Try to push it and see. Remember last time you waited for me on the sidewalk?”
She snorted. “I tripped.”
“I don’t want that to happen again. Let me take care of you.”
“Okay, I’ll try. Have a good day.”
He bent and kissed her one more time. “You, too.”
She waved as he walked down the hallway.
He got to the head office. “Good morning, Mrs. Burns.”
“Hello, Mr. Spencer. Do you have an appointment this morning?”
“No. I was in the building and thought I’d stop by. Does he have a minute to talk to me?”
“Let me check.”
Kaleb stood back and waited.
“He said to go on in.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Burns. And by the way, that job offer is still open. I’d appreciate you way more than this guy does.”
Mrs. Burns chuckled and waved him away.
Kaleb walked into Gregory’s office and to his desk with his hand out.
Gregory stood and shook his hand. “To what do I owe the honor?”
Kaleb grinned and sat in one of the chairs in front of Gregory’s desk. “I wanted to talk to you. Last Thursday, I literally ran into Aleena outside my building. It was pouring down rain, and we didn’t see each other. I gave her a ride home. She was soaked, shivering, and she was planning to ride the bus. We hit it off. I know you told me to stay away from her, but I was instantly attracted to her. After spending time with her, it’s only deepened. We’ve spent time together last weekend and want to spend more.”
“I see. What do you want from me?”
“You’ve been a good friend to me, so I guess I want your blessing.”
“And if I don’t give it?”
Kaleb couldn’t read the expression on the other man’s face. “I would still see her. I’ve never felt like this about a woman, and I can’t let her go.”
“How does she feel?”
“I think you should ask her yourself, but I think she feels the same. It’s going to hurt to go a day without seeing her.” Kaleb sat back and waited.
“I talked to Lana after you were here last. She told me about meeting your partner, Darian, and his girlfriend at a function. Lana said she reminded her of Aleena.”
Kaleb nodded. “Her name is Larkin. She’s very sweet and makes Darian extremely happy. All of the partners have been looking for a specific type of woman. One who wants the man in her life to take care of her. She doesn’t mind that he wants to make basic decisions for her. Aleena is my chance at happiness, and I don’t want to give that up. Hell, you’d have to drag me away from her.”
Gregory nodded. “I can see you feel strongly for her, so that I won’t interfere unless you make her unhappy.”
“I won’t.”
“I believe you.”
Kaleb stood and reached out to shake the other man’s hand. “Thank you.”
Gregory stood as well. “I appreciate you coming to talk to me. It shows me you’re really serious about her.”
“I am. If I have my way, we’ll be living together before too long.”
Gregory sputtered out a laugh. “You might be moving a little fast, son.”
“We’ll see.” Kaleb stopped at the door. “Thank you.”
“You have a good day and stop trying to take my secretary away.”
“I’ll never stop. She’s a gem.”
Gregory chuckled. “That she is.”
Kaleb walked back to Aleena’s office. She jumped when he closed the door.
“How’d it go?”
Kaleb spun her chair around and smiled when she squealed and grabbed his arm.
“It went very well. He gave us his blessing.”
“Good.”
“I know you have to work, so give me a kiss, and I’ll see you later.”
He pulled her up from the chair and kissed her until they were both out of breath and needy. He regretfully pulled away from her.
“See you soon,” he said and walked out of her office whistling. Everything was falling in place. Now he just had to talk her into moving in with him.
Chapter Ten
Later that day, Kaleb pulled up outside of Aleena’s building, parked, and walked in to find her standing talking to one of the security guys. He’d never been a jealous person before in his life, but the only thing saving the guy was that he wasn’t touching her. He was afraid he would have lost it.
His nerves calmed further when he walked up and curled an arm around her waist, and she turned
